Breadcrumbs

Performance & Policy Consultative Committee

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) Performance and Policy Consultative Committee (Committee) has been established by the State Government to consider the future directions of CFA.

CFA is the one of the largest volunteer-based emergency services organisations in the world, with 1,125 brigades providing vital services to the Victorian community. Every day, CFA protects 3.3 million people and over 1 million homes. The community relies on CFA to provide lifesaving services before, during and after emergencies. Likewise, CFA relies on members of the community to volunteer their time and expertise to fulfil its public safety role.

The community is changing, as are the risks they face. CFA must continue to deliver services to the community and support them through emergencies, but how CFA ensures high-quality service delivery into the future is not well understood. CFA must change and the Committee has been established to investigate this need and the challenges faced by CFA.

The Committee provides an opportunity to unite career firefighters, volunteers, support staff and management to improve CFA’s performance and culture, and provide advice on how CFA can continue to provide vital services to a changing community. The Committee will be assisted in this work by examining other important reviews, inquiries and action plans in the emergency services area, and investigating the changing needs of the community.

Committee membership

The Committee is chaired by the Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon. James Merlino, and includes representatives from CFA, Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic).

The Committee’s membership will ensure that it can consider and give advice and recommendations that reflect the diverse membership of CFA and its role in reducing the impact and incidence of fires and other emergencies. CFA works closely with EMV and FFMVic, and their involvement in the Committee will ensure that CFA considers its future directions in the context of sector-wide reform.

To look at what inputs are needed (as CFA and as a sector) to support volunteerism in a modern, flexible and adaptive way, and increase volunteer accessibility and engagement for the diverse community we serve.

The Committee is committed to engaging directly with CFA members, the broader sector and the community it serves to guide its operation. The Committee will use several mechanisms to do this, including the release of an interim report to share its ideas and seek feedback.

The Committee will release more information about its work as it progresses, so check back here for updates and future opportunities to be involved. If you have any questions about the Committee’s work, please contact the Secretariat at performancepolicycc@cfa.vic.gov.au.

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback. If you have any ideas on how we can improve, we'd love to hear them.